Sunday, May 30, 2010

Our homeschool enrichment program holds an annual field day to celebrate the end of the school year. With the exception of the 30 mile an hour winds that were yanking everyone's plates out of their hands (while we attempted a potluck lunch), it was a lot of fun. The kids look forward to it each year . . . this year it was particularly fun because it was scheduled on Anna's birthday!

"this is great, all I need now is chicken!" (Levi ~ while watching "Mythbusters")

"Dad, am I going to be a boy or a girl when I grow up?" (Anna)

"I don't like sweaty dads" (Anna)

Kevin asked Anna how she had gotten so beautiful, to which she replied "God ~ and I'm wearing flip flops!"

"Mom, when you grow up ~ can you grow up to be a teacher?" (Anna)

"It's about time I learned you how to draw!" (Anna)

"Oh no, I forgot ~ it's like the 'memory train' just crashed!" (Levi, trying to remember what he was going to say)

"that's because Samuel is my twin, born four years after me" (Levi ~ explaining why he and Samuel think a lot alike)

"Please don't hit me, I'm on pause" (Samuel -- taking a break from a game of tag)

"They did really good, they sang the right notes together" (Levi -- referring to our dog and the neighbor's dog, they had a "meeting" to see if they would get along while we were gone over Thanksgiving)

"This is yummy ~ this tastes like Jesus!" (Anna)

"Mom, that was a great idea for snack ~ you were a good thinker!" (Anna)

"Do you think I might be the fastest 7 year old on earth right now?" (Daniel)

"I think these (pointing to his leg) should be called 'legaments' and these (pointing to his arm) should be called 'armaments' (Daniel)

"Mom, do you know what? . . . God ~ He bought us with his own money . . . and He really loves us!" (Anna)

"You are a special breed of human, Daniel! ~ the ultimate risk taker!" (Levi)

"I feel like I've been on one of the biggest adventures of my whole life ~ because I just finished a great book!" (Emily)

"When I grow up I want to be a horse rider who owns a library" (Anna)

"dad, you should slip it into 'nutrient' and coast down the hill" (Levi)

"Mom, these are practically 'instinct'--do you know what that means?" (Samuel)

"Mom, do toes ever lose their skin?" (Anna)

"that watermelon tastes great ~ it's just below the dripping point, so it doesn't drip all over you" (Levi)

"This is fun, going on a walk and taking the parents along" (Anna)

"The Backyardigans are adding a touch of education ~ it's kind of scattered around the movie" (Daniel)

Got Jesus?

It is entirely possible that as you've been reading our little blog, you have realized that you don't know God in the same way that we speak of Him.

Our lives on earth are surprisingly brief and painfully unpredictable. Our days and years are full of joy and sorrow intermingled with laughter, tears, questions, discoveries, triumphs and setbacks. If you are only living for these few brief moments, we believe that there will come a day when you discover that you have "missed the bigger picture".

Your life is not an accident. The One who created you has a love for you that you cannot begin to comprehend. He has a plan for your life and desires to be a part of that plan.

I didn't grow up in a family that regularly attended church. I remember as a child trying to wrap my brain around the concept of time and eternity (with little success). When I was a college student, I sought out a church and began attending. God began to reveal the pieces of the puzzle for me and I finally heard an explanation of eternity that made sense.

The human race isn't meant to just go "on and on and on" into an endless void--with generations of people occupying the planet (living only for earthly pleasures and looking out for themselves) and then being packaged in neat little boxes in the ground, never to enjoy one another again. God's desire is that they would all be able to enjoy ongoing life in a place (and even in bodies!) that are restored to what He originally intended . . . and that they would also get to enjoy an eternal, ongoing relationship with the "potter who made the clay".

It is only because of really poor, selfish choices that the human race lost that in the first place. As a kid, I remember someone on my newspaper route who always asked me "if you died tonight do you know where you would spend eternity?". I didn't. But, what I was supposed to do about that didn't really "click" for me at that time either.

Years later, once I became a Christian, a particular Bible verse jumped out at me. "The god of this age (the enemy of God) has blinded the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the glory of the gospel of Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:4). It wasn't until God allowed me to recognize the questions and longing and hunger and dissatisfaction within me that that veil was removed and I could even understand my need for a relationship with God.

So, if you happen to find yourself with questions or a gnawing hunger to understand the bigger picture of life and eternity (the "what's the point of it all?" kind of questions), perhaps God is attempting to remove the veil for you and draw you to Himself.

Listen to that!

Don't just distract yourself with all the "stuff of life" and brush off the little inside voice that is asking to know more. The "god of this age" is a master at distracting us from what is really important -- and he doesn't want us to EVER discover the God of all eternity.

God holds the universe in perfect balance, not allowing the earth to get even a single mile too close to the sun. He created the inner workings of the human body--and designed it so that every single cell works in harmony with every other cell, in order to make it possible to even draw your next breath. It wasn't an accident.

Many a scientist has set out to disprove God only to discover that it makes no logical sense to do so. Don't you think that maybe a God like that ought to have some sort of place in your life? =)

It was almost 20 years ago that I decided to take God seriously and involve him in my life. Since that time, I have seen God reveal himself in amazing ways, provide in ways I never could have imagined and "show up" in miraculous ways on many occasions. He's an active God and He doesn't want to just "admire you from afar!", He wants you to notice Him too!

Think about this:

Imagine that you have a four year old little boy with bright eyes, cute little dimples and an infectious laugh! Imagine him going about his day in a highly cute, loveable "four year old kind of way" and NEVER involving you. Never acknowledging your part in his world. Never thanking you, hugging you, talking to you or asking "why" (even once!) . . . he doesn't even notice that you are in the room. You cook him his favorite meal, bring him his special blanket, serve him his favorite dessert, provide a warm, safe place for him when it's cold outside. You shelter him from the ravenous animals outside the door, give him cars and trucks and blocks to play with . . . and he never even acknowledges you? All you can do is gaze upon his cuteness from a distance.

Or imagine him falling and cutting himself or being frightened by something. He cries an endless stream of tears -- alone. He wraps himself up in his blanket and buries his face into his pillow and cries--alone, never asking for help. He hasn't even acknowledged that you are in the room, so he hasn't come to you for comfort in the midst of his hurt. You just watch quietly from a distance as he struggles in pain and fear -- believing he's alone. Your heart hurts for him, you long to wrap him up in your arms and provide comfort and to let him know that you are near -- but he doesn't acknowledge you.

Could you imagine him growing up that way?

Spending his whole life that way?

How sad.

I wonder if God has the ability to feel that kind of rejection from us? I personally think he does. I also think that God desperately longs to be the parent who sits on the floor and plays Candy Land with us 14 times in one morning, just because we really like it and He gets to spend time with us! He DELIGHTS in us (the way that I delight in my own children).

So, what do you do with all that?

It's a fairly simple process. God set it up so that we could actually have a relationship with him, just like you would with a friend. Since He is the God of the universe--and we're not, He requires that we at least acknowledge that part. (It just works better that way!) He is holy and infinite and has standards --which all of us have failed, on our own, to live up to.

(I stole this from someone else, but the "A-B-C's" of becoming a Christian are fairly simple.

Admit that you are a sinner and have done wrong things in your life (Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God)

Believe that Jesus died for you (John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life)

Confess and leave your sin behind (1 John 1:9 - If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness)

Next, pray this simple prayer in faith (believing that it's true):

"Father, forgive me of my sins. I believe that Jesus Christ died for me and He has taken away the guilt of my sins. I now want to live the rest of my life for you, and I ask Jesus Christ to be my Lord. Thank you for the gift of eternal life in heaven forever. In Jesus' name, amen."

If you have prayed the above prayer in faith, the very presence of God, in the form of His Holy Spirit, has come to live inside you. This decision does not mean that your life will suddenly become perfect or that you will be immune from the pain of living in an imperfect world . . . it does mean that you are no longer alone, because God himself is living in you.

I can guarantee you, your life will never be the same.

Emily ~ 2008

Levi ~ 2008

Daniel ~ 2008

Samuel ~ 2008

Anna ~ 2008

"These are a few of my favorite things" . . .

Anna -- drawing, writing and cutting with scissors, taking care of her babies, getting to go on the computer and see her Webkin, dancing, animals of every kind, her "geekie" (blanket), her siblings, peas!, "taffy taffy" (salt water taffy), reading books with mom, playing with Samuel, the cream in the middle of double stuff oreos!, being my dinner helper.

Samuel -- snuggling!, building a fort out of my couch cushions, cars, his blanket, his "Anna sister"!, pretending to drive a train through the house, driving his truck really fast inside the house!, laughing, being one of the "big boys", helping in the kitchen, fruit roll-ups!

Daniel -- beating all of us at Yahtzee!, the trampoline, practicing piano, reading, math, puzzles, games, playing on the computer, his Webkinz, salmon patties!

Levi--Nerf guns, contraptions!, gadgets of every shape & size, listening to music on his ipod, sleeping!, building things & fixing things, tacos!